Marrs, like some of the other people that we have examined in this series so far, goes after anything with horns. At one point Marrs states: "...painted on the Gate of Ishtar [in ancient Babylon] was the bull, the sign of the King of Babylon who was the supreme man-god of the Babylonian religion. The horns of the bull later were attributed to the form of Satan...(58) Horns were later attributed to the form of Satan, but by Christians like Marrs.

Marrs makes lots of mythological mistakes. For example, he states: "The pegasus, or winged horse, originated in Greek mythology as the symbol of the Pegae, a water-priestess. The pegasus was said to be the son of the Moon Goddess Medusa. His hoof was shaped like a crescent moon, which today is yet another New Age and occult symbol."(59)

Medusa was a Gorgon, a winged monster with serpents for hair, whose gaze turned people to stone, not a Greek moon goddess. Pegasus was created from Medusa's blood when the hero Perseus decapitated her. The name Pegasus means "of the wells," and Pegasus is related to several springs in Greek mythology. An example is the Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, on Mount Helicon. The Hippocrene is said to have sprung up from where Pegasus first set his foot down. While Pegasus was undoubtedly associated with water, I have been unable to find any references in texts of Greek mythology to water-priestesses called "Pegae."

Marrs goes after unicorns too. He states: "The unicorn is today pictured as a friendly and loving, gentle creature with great appeal to kids. But his origins are occultic. Nimrod, the 'Great Hunter' and man-god of Babylon, wore a headdress with a single horn protruding from the front."(60)

Unicorns originally appeared in ancient Mesopotamian art. The earliest description in Greek literature was by Ctesias (c. 400 BCE), who was probably describing a rhinoceros. The unicorn was often used by the early church as a symbol of Christ, who raised up a horn of salvation for mankind and dwelt in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is the basis for the medieval belief that the only person that could tame a unicorn was a female virgin. Many modern fundamentalist Christians now label anything with horns as satanic, regardless of what it actually represents.

There is no reference in the Bible to Nimrod wearing a headdress with a single horn in front. Marrs probably got this idea from the comic style tracts of Jack Chick, whom we discussed earlier in this series. Chick depicts Nimrod in this fashion in his comic mini tracts. Chick, in turn, may have adapted this idea from the reference to a single horn in Daniel 7:8 in the Bible. This vision of Daniel has nothing to do with Nimrod.

Curiously, Marrs cautions his reader that "...We must be very cautious about categorizing every single use of these symbols as evil. What we can do, however, is determine who is displaying the symbol and for what purpose... If, however, a fundamentalist Christian church whose pastor has impeccable credentials as a solid man of God were to adopt the triangle logo, it might be an innocent situation. If we ask the pastor why, he might even tell us that the triangle was selected because it symbolizes the Holy Trinity. It would, of course, be better for him to avoid the use of the triangle because of its New Age occult connotation, but we cannot fault his good intentions. [emphasis in original]"(61)

However, on the very next page Marrs contradicts himself by saying: "Nevertheless, used in a spiritual or religious context the triangle and other New Age symbols we have discussed and illustrate (sic) in this book are almost always chosen for their occult value and significance. For example, the triangle is the most popular of all occult symbols and I find no justification for its use by Christians.[emphasis in original]"(62) First Marrs is saying that it is alright if you have the Christian seal of approval and mean well. Then he turns around and says that its not. I don't think he knows what he wants.

Marrs is extremely critical of modern psychology and critical of techniques used by New Age groups as well. For example, he states that "...Visualization and guided imagery,...are satanic methods of conjuring up and manipulating images. The use of visualization has long been a powerful vehicle of occultists; but today psychology- whose founders were almost without exception satanists and perverts- has brought occult visualization to the masses. Sadly, millions of Christians today have been introduced to visualization... [emphasis in original]"(63) Later Marrs states: "Jungian and paganistic imagery and myths cannot effectively be used as a first step on the path to discovering God. Regrettably, this is simply a lie of the Devil. We cannot find God through Jungian archetypes and paganistic myths, nor by constructing mythological gods and goddesses and heroes and heroines in our vain and flimsy imaginations. This is the pathway away from God. We find God only through obedience to Jesus Christ as the only intercessor between man and God. What a dangerous deception to believe that, somehow, un-Biblical fantasy, myth, and make-believe can lead one to God... What New Age man does not know is that once we begin to visualize and attempt to create a divine image to guide our lives, Satan steps in and conveniently provides us with the image he wants us to worship and obey. You are fooled into thinking you are in control while the Devil delightedly conforms your thought-patterns to his. [emphasis in original]"(64)

Basically what Marrs is saying here is that he objects to anyone thinking of anything other than Christianity and that the Christian Bible is literally true. It isn't that he is objecting to some one making your thought patterns conform, its that he thinks that he has the right to demand that your though forms conform to his patterns alone. Christianity, like all religions, is based on myth (a very powerful thing if used properly). Many modern schools of psychology recognize this (particularly Jungians). Psychology is not a Satanic practice.

One of the "New Age" books that Marrs draws heavily on is J. J. Hurtag's The Keys of Enoch.(65) In reference to Hurtag's book Marrs states: "Who is this Higher Intelligence that shall seal the minds of New Age disciples by sending them a 'divine' Image? The Keys of Enoch names him 'Metatron', which in ancient occult literature stands for none other than Lucifer, the Devil. Metatron is called the 'Left Hand of the Father', a position in obvious opposition to Jesus who sits at the right hand of God... Metatron is simply a synonym for an evil entity who was known among the priests and priestesses of the wicked, ancient, pre-Christian Babylonian Mystery Religion."(66)

The Keys of Enoch rambles on about how people can become "christed" to become "like the light body of Enoch." Hurtag's scholarship is as bad as Marrs' scholarship is. Metatron was not an evil entity as Marrs asserts. There are various theories as to the origin of the name Metatron (Variations: MTTRVN, Methraton, Meetatron, Metraton, Metrator and Merattron). Eleazor of Worms suggested that it was derived from the Latin "metator" ("guide" or "measurer"). Odeberg in his translation of 3 Enoch suggested that it was a metonym for a Jewish phrase meaning "little YHVH." 3 Enoch, chapter 48, lists more than 100 names for Metatron. In Genesis 5:24 the patriarch Enoch is transported to heaven and turned into the angel Metatron. Metatron is the dark angel who wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 32, the watchman mentioned in Isaiah 21 and probably the angel referred to in Exodus 23:22. In The Talmud Metatron is a principal angel who is the link between the divine and mankind, though it avoids the identification of Enoch with this angel. In 3 Enoch Metatron is the tallest and greatest angel in heaven. In The Greater Key of Solomon he is an angel, of the order of Kerubim, called the Prince of the Angels, or the Vice Regent of Shaddai, the Prince of Countenances, who is the right hand (masculine) guardian of the Ark of the Covenant (Sandalphon being the left hand guardian). Metatron is a name used in the consecration of ritual wands and inscribed on the mirror of Solomon in the Grimorium Verum. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn variously consider Metatron to be the great archangel of the Sephira Kether, the male Kerub of brightness who is the guardian of representing the white pillar Jachin, or one of the three archangels of Cholem Yesodoth. Nowhere is Metatron referred to as a demon or devil.

The most amusing statement Marrs makes is that "Christians with the discernment of the Holy Spirit can easily decipher and see through this absurd gibberish. Clearly, the New Age populace is being prepared by Satan to receive his Mark. They are being seduced into believing that with this Mark, their all-seeing eye will be activated and they will have acquired a direct link with their 'Divine Father'- the Universal Mind- and his wise, all-knowing Hierarchy. They will be One with the Force. But in truth, they will have come under a spirit of deception and be under total bondage to Satan."(67)

It is ironic that Marrs should be calling these things "absurd gibberish" when that phrase so aptly describes the material in his own book.

Based on this "absurd gibberish", Marrs declares that "...the top echelon of New Age leaders know exactly what these symbols mean and the purpose behind their use today. Once a person is fully initiated into the New Age, he is made aware of the satanic nature of symbols and of his own role in Satan's Plan to control and dominate the world... Today's witches and Satan-worshippers active in the New Age... use symbols in ritual and incantation to invoke demon spirits. They also create sinister symbols in the form of talismans, charms, amulets, prayer-sticks, and masks to accomplish the casting of spells and other evil objectives... I find that New Agers recognize one another through their common use of symbols.[emphasis in original]"(68)

Here it is again: The Satanic Conspiracy myth. The last sentence is absurd. The use of symbols as identifying features of organizations to allow recognition of members is a characteristic common to all religious organizations, including Christianity.

Marrs takes this paranoia one step further: He devotes an entire chapter entitled "Marked For Extinction" to explaining how he figures that the New Age is plotting to exterminate Christians in some pogrom. Marrs points to the fact that some people in the U.S. military practice non-Christian religions as proof that military organizations are preparing themselves to carry out this threat. There are people in the U.S. Military who practice legal religions other than Christianity. This is evidence that the U.S. Military, unlike Marrs, does not discriminate against people on the basis of religion.

The latest thing that Marrs' paranoid fantasies have seized upon is Harry Potter. "The seduction is virtually complete," Marrs complains, "Christianity's top leaders have now gone over to the devil's side. Many today openly endorse and embrace witchcraft, magic, and other devilish arts and devices. Most others, by the marked silence, are now acquiescing and joining in on this ghoulish, latter days conspiracy."(69) Marrs reveals that he has a bit of a persecution complex with a touch of megalomania when he complains that his books like Dark Secrets of the New Age, "caused me to become one of the most hated, reviled, and rejected men in the entire Christian world."(70) Marrs makes the argument that back in 1987 he warned the world of the "insidious, unscriptural, satanic, and magical messages and images contained in the books of the famous 'Christian' author, C.S. Lewis." Marrs explains that he believes that Lewis' Narnia series of books "were from the very pit of hell" and that these books paved the way for the success of J. K Rowlings books about Harry Potter. Marrs maintains that another cause is that children and adults "have been dumbed down sufficiently by ecumenical pastors and charismatic Word of Faith evangelists. Their hearts and minds have been stained by the filth and degradation viewed daily on TV and by the polluted music and rotten doctrines spouted in their upside-down, pseudo-Christian churches."(71) Curiously, Marr goes on to accuse the Churches that have burned Potter books of increasing the public's interest in the New Age. He bases this on Acts 19:19/20: "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men... So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed."(72)

Accompanying Marrs' article is a drawing of Harry Potter showing the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead. Marrs has an arrow pointing from a side bar to this scar. The sidebar depicts the symbol of the Nazi SS and the caption "Satanic symbol."(73) Marrs goes on to claim that "so-called underground 'Christian' churches in the USA and Great Britain [are] now performing unholy satanic black masses, with naked women draped over the altars."(74)

Location: Surrey, British ColumbiaWebsite: http://www.officersofavalon.comBio: Kerr Cuhulain the author of this article, is known to the mundane world as Detective Constable Charles Ennis. Ennis, a former child abuse investigator, is the author of several articles on child abuse investigation that appeared in Law & Order Magazine. Better known to the Pagan community by his Wiccan name, Kerr Cuhulain, Ennis was the first Wiccan police officer to go public about his beliefs 28 years ago. Kerr is now the Preceptor General of Officers of Avalon. Kerr went on to write four books: The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca (Horned Owl Publishing), Wiccan Warrior and Full Contact Magick: A Book of Shadows for the Wiccan Warrior. (Llewellyn Publications), as well as a book based on this series: Witch Hunts: Out of the Broom Closet (Spiral Publishing).

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